twinned Selenite (fluorescent)

Item Description

A small, well-formed ball of twinned blades of Selenite, with two super-gemmy 3 cm twinned crystals growing prominently out from the ball. The Selenites formed in the clay beds of the Red River Floodway near Winnipeg, as floater balls of crystals. Interestingly, the large fish-tail twins have a very attractive silky luster that is unusual. Fortunately, the sides of one of the crystals are slightly cleaved, creating absolutely glass-clear windows that allow you to see right through the gemmy crystal. Very fortuitous! Under UV light, these beautiful Selenites fluoresce a gorgeous bluish-white. These strange floater balls of gypsum crystals formed deep in clay beds in the floodway of the Red River, and have been mined there (with a lot of labor) since the 60s. They are truly beautiful, particularly when you have just one or two twinned crystals rising from the rest of the ball in isolation, as here.